You’ve probably heard the expression: “Be true to yourself.”
I want to flip that notion on its head: “Don’t be true to someone you’re not.”
Isn’t that just re-phrasing the same thing? I hope you’ll agree that although the reasoning may be the same, the meaning behind it is not.
“Be true to yourself” gives a clear-cut directive. Straightforward and without latitude, it may leave many of us to stumble at the start with questions like “Who am I?”, “What is the true me?” “How can I be true to a ‘me’ I do not really know?”.
We may jokingly ask “Who am I? Why am I here?”, but sometimes we feel that they are deadly serious questions.
Even while you may not be able to state categorically what YOU ARE and WANT TO BE, you may have more success in determining what you do not want to be, how you don’t want to act, and how you don’t want to be seen.
How can this be achieved?
Aim to live a life that is comfortable for you, and one that makes you content with who you are. A life dictated by someone you think you should be will not lead ultimately to contentment.
I wish to change my behaviour in order to improve and sustain the environment.
If my desire is ‘to have a positive impact on my environment’ I may be faced with a daunting task that hits right at the heart of the problem. Where to begin? Plant trees? Reduce food waste? Walk rather than drive?
By flipping the desire to ‘I do not want to have a negative impact’ it becomes possible to tackle the problem more slowly, allowing individual changes to settle into my lifestyle. I take jute bags when I shop; separate my waste packaging; reuse and recycle when I can; small steps that become a mindset.
Some may think this is all nit-picking, playing the semantics game, being plain pedantic. But it is often the language, the meaning we place on certain words and phrases than can be stumbling blocks to understanding.
If you don’t know who you are it is hard to ‘be true to yourself’.
If you accept what you don’t want to be it becomes easy to become proactive and ‘be true to your desired self’.
I feel very strongly about this idea – ideal – but the autistic in me makes it difficult to put the concept across. I become very wordy when words may be obscuring a very simple message.
Please look through this verbiage to discover my meaning. If you have a simpler way to express my thoughts please share yours in the comments section. If you have enjoyed my words please like, share, and comment.
Thank you for reading.
marilyn unmasked 